South Korea's justice ministry said that a record sixteen-thousand applicants filed for refugee status in 2018, a sixty-three percent on-year jump.
That's the highest number since the ministry began collecting relevant data in 1994.
Kazakhstani nationals made up the largest number of applicants, followed by Russia and Malaysia.
But, only six-hundred-fifty-eight applicants were either granted asylum or permission to stay in the country on humanitarian grounds.
The ministry says the number of asylum seekers began to increase dramatically in 2013 after South Korea enacted a new refugee law.
